Why Therapists Need to Leave the Office to Learn
We often think of professional development as sitting in a seminar, reading a textbook, or earning CEUs. But in my experience, the most profound learning opportunities for therapists happen when we step outside the classroom and into the community.
Vieten and Scammell (2015) argue that one of the best ways to increase spiritual and religious competency is "learning outside of the therapy room."
This is often the least utilized method because it requires time and effort that many busy clinicians just don't have. However, reflecting on my own journey, my time spent attending AA/NA groups, visiting shelters, and walking through different neighborhoods gave me something a book never could: first-hand experience of what my clients see and hear.
The Danger of Assumptions: A Lesson from Hinduism
Why does this experiential learning matter? Because without it, our Western assumptions can accidentally cause harm.
I recently engaged with the work of Sorajjakool, Carr, and Bursey regarding Hinduism. Growing up in a Christian home, I was taught that organ donation was simply "the right thing to do." It was a moral positive.
However, in some Hindu traditions, the concept of Karma complicates this. There are beliefs regarding the integrity of the body and how organ donation might impact the soul's transition or future incarnations. As a healthcare professional, if I approached a Hindu client with my default Western assumption that "organ donation is obviously good," I could make them feel deeply disrespected and unappreciated.
How to Expand Your Horizons
We cannot rely on our clients to be our teachers. If a client feels they have to teach you the "basics" of their culture in session, it shifts the dynamic and can stall therapeutic progress.
So, how do we do the work?
Attend Events: Go to a Día de los Muertos celebration. Attend a festival. Be a respectful observer of how a community celebrates life and death.
Diversify Your Feed: Curate your social media to include voices from Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Indigenous creators. Stay up to date with the sociopolitical factors impacting these communities.
Ask Intelligent Questions: Do the foundational reading first. That way, when you are in a session, you can ask sophisticated questions about the client's personal relationship to their faith, rather than asking them to explain the religion to you from scratch.
